Tight housing supply, coupled with rising disparity between fair market rent and rents controlled under the local rent control ordinances throughout the Bay Area, has created a perfect storm for landlord-tenant disputes.
When these conflicts hit a dead end, the deadlock often ends up in front of local bodies tasked with ironing out these matters. Not to play semantics, but these bodies can be called the Rent Board, but also go by other official names such as the Rent Stabilization Board, Rent Review Advisory Committee, Rental Housing Committee, and the like.
Regardless how they are coined, their common purpose is to mediate landlord-tenant disputes and make determinations pursuant to the municipalities’ rent control measures that generally moderate rent increases and enumerate specific reasons why a tenant can be evicted.
We've summarized the rules in rent controlled jurisdictions throughout the Bay Area. Learn them here →
Here on our home soil, the San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board, known more commonly as the Rent Board, is an administrative agency tasked with interpreting and enforcing San Francisco’s Rent Ordinance, which aims to preserve low-cost housing by limiting rent increases for tenants in occupancy. Since it’s inception in 1979, the Rent Board has grown substantially in size and scope and has promulgate a host of increasingly complex regulations.
Oakland is another locale that has a rather convoluted set of rent control rules that can befuddle landlords and expose them to liability if there are any missteps.
Whatever rent controlled jurisdiction you find yourself in, appearances before these administrative agencies can be intimidating and your rights as a landlord may not be readily apparent.
The consequences of an unfavorable ruling will vary in severity, but they can be substantial.
For over 23 years, Bornstein Law has observed the expansion and evolution of rent control laws and intimately understand the alphabet soup of rules, petitions and legal options available to landlords.
If you find yourself mired in a matter that must be examined by a rent review agency, we look forward to putting our knowledge and advocacy skills to work for your rental business against the headwinds of an ever-growing cluster of tenant protections and a climate that increasingly pits residents against rental property owners.
More In-Depth By Municipality
San Francisco Rent Ordinance
Oakland Rent Adjustment Program & Just Cause Eviction Ordinance
Berkeley's Rent Stabilization & Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance
San Jose Rent Control Apartment Rent Ordinance
Emeryville's Residential Landlord & Tenant Relations Ordinance
Alameda Rent Ordinance & Rent Review Advisory Committee
Hayward Rent Ordinance
Richmond Fair Rent, Just Cause For Eviction & Homeowner Protection Ordinance
Mountain View Rent Control Measure V & The Rent Relief Program
San Leandro Rent Review Ordnance
Other Landlord-Tenant Topics
Tenant Buyout Agreements
Security Deposits
Rent Control
Owner Move-In Evicitons
Unlawful Detainers
Just Cause Eviction
Airbnb & Short Term Rental Agreements
Tenant Abandonment
Rent Board Appearances
Tenant Hoarding
Marijuana in Rental Units
